Just wondering what the differences are between Veloce and Centaur (carbon version), and whether it's worth the extra $100 or so. Also, what improvements were made in the 2011-2012 version over the 2010 version? At the moment, it's possible to get the 2010 Centaur carbon groupset for about the same price as the 2012 Veloce. Which one is more worth it? Thanks

I have both groupsets - have travelled 250kms on the veloce and 50kms on the centaur(red/black) - minimals kilometres I know but I cannot speak highly enough of the veloce - my perception was there was nothing dogs balls obvious between the two quality wise - sorry if this confuses the issue

I've got 2010 Veloce on my Van Nic (almost 5000km) and have nothing but praise for it. IMHO probably the best value groupset.

I upgraded to a Fulcrum* crankset though. This was because the bike came (from bargain bin) with 53/39 and I wanted a compact, but powertorque (2010 Veloce is Ultratorque) requires an additional ~$50-60 worth of tools to remove the crankset. If I added that onto the cost of a standard ali 2012 veloce crankset it was only ~$30-40 more for carbon so, hey, blingetty bling bling (and a 200gs or so lighter).

*Fulcrum is basically campy stuff branded so they can sell wheels and carbon cranksets to Shimano/SRAM users. For serious.

2010 Centaur is Ultratorque. 2011+ is Powertorque. They are incompatible with each other. Ultratorque is better (apparently) and still used on the high end groupsets (Chorus, Record and Super Record).

Ultratorque also needs less tools to service which is only an issue if you service yourself.

As to whether which will actually make a difference in reality... hmmm... If you race, Centaur is slightly lighter and probably has minutely more reliable shifting (if at all measurable), so would potentially add the seconds, or remove the possibility of losing the seconds if you miss-shift, thus allowing you to win the race.

If you don't race, it's bling pretty much.

Ultratorque/powertorque aside, if you are going to spend more money, consider spending a bit more and going Athena. If you want a large sprocket (i.e. 29t) with 10 speed you are limited to a 13t smallest sprocket. This with a compact crankset gives a highest gear of 50/13 which is lower than a 44/11 that most MTBs have. I do notice this going down hill (I have 50/34 13-29). With 11 speed you can get 12-29 which would be awesome as you will not spin out before absolutely everyone, yet still be able to spin past them (with a smug look on your face) while they are all grinding when going uphill .

2010 Centaur levers (which I have - very good) will facilitate multiple rear shifting both up and down. I gather the latest editions below Chorus (I think) limit shifting to one click-one cog. This may not matter to you, but it strokes a racer's ego.

If the 2010 Centaur has Ultra Torque cranks I'd probably go for them over the latest Power Torque cranks on Athena downwards. There's probably no performance diffrence bewteen the two, but UT cranks seem to be easier to install and uninstall, and require fewer specialist tools. UT cranks are awesome and look great compared to most other options out there.

Jean wrote:2010 Centaur levers (which I have - very good) will facilitate multiple rear shifting both up and down. I gather the latest editions below Chorus (I think) limit shifting to one click-one cog. This may not matter to you, but it strokes a racer's ego.

If the 2010 Centaur has Ultra Torque cranks I'd probably go for them over the latest Power Torque cranks on Athena downwards. There's probably no performance diffrence bewteen the two, but UT cranks seem to be easier to install and uninstall, and require fewer specialist tools. UT cranks are awesome and look great compared to most other options out there.

Maybe one for those who understand the internals better but I thought I read or heard that the new veloce has some internal parts that are now plastic and maybe not as durable. Maybe the indexing ratchet?

Sorry to be a bit vague.

For the record, my wife has the "old" veloce and it is bloody brilliant. I have Centaur and love it as well. (So much I just bought the Centaur Red for my new build).